Prof. Eriabu Lugujjo, the Executive Director of UVCF told its members that they need all the essential input for the forum for it to perform to the optimum and attract the government’s attention.
Vice Chancellors under their
umbrella body, the Uganda Vice Chancellors Forum (UVCF) have made proposals to strengthen
the visibility of its secretariat to bolster its capacity to improve the higher
education landscape.
Established in 1997, UVCF brings
together leaderships of 55 different universities and degree-awarding
institutions within Uganda to shape the future of higher education learning, and
research.
However, during the 73rd Uganda Vice Chancellors Forum general meeting hosted at Gulu University Thursday, members of UVCF said
the forum despite its over two decades of existence in the country has been
less visible.
Prof. Eriabu Lugujjo, the Executive
Director of UVCF told its members that they need all the essential input for
the forum for it to perform to the optimum and attract the government’s
attention.
He said the forum ought to revive
its activities that impact education policies arguing that unless they are
visible, they can't be counted by the government.
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According to Prof. Lugujjo, strengthening
the visibility of the forum helps the different universities to collectively
lobby for common interests in the area of financing, curriculum reviews, and
subventions for private universities.
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He notes that out of the 55
universities in the country, only 12 are public and receive support from the
government while 43 are private and struggling to perform their functions due
to inadequate resources.
Prof George Openjuru Ladaah, Gulu
University Vice Chancellor who also doubles as the Chairperson of UVCF, Prof
says the Forum can stand as a major platform for various universities to
negotiate with the government on improving higher education learning once it strengthens.
He says the forum is also
instrumental in creating a synergy of learning for leadership of the various
institutions in areas of management and lobbying skills for grants to sustain the
operations of universities.
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He however says to achieve the
visibility of the secretariat; members of the forum have to unite irrespective
of their status of being private or public universities.
According to Prof. Openjuru, the
forum is trying to negotiate with the government to waive taxes imposed on
educational materials for universities and provide subventions for public
universities to spur academic research and innovation.
Prof. Joy Kwesiga, the Vice
Chancellor of Kabale University notes that in other countries where the Vice Chancellors
Forum has been visible, they achieved tremendously in influencing policies on
education and quelling down major strikes among universities.
She says there is a need to revive
the Vice Chancellors Forum in the country in a bid to achieve its crucial plans
in the Higher education sector transformation.
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Makerere University Vice
Chancellor Prof Barnabas Nawangwe however says if the forum is well organized,
it can play a key role in attracting the attention of donors in getting grants
and scholarships for academic purposes in the country. He notes that unlike a
university going to lobby on its own, coming as a forum of University vice-chancellors
can increase chances of getting grants from international organizations like MasterCard
Foundation.
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During its general meeting,
members of the forum seconded the proposals to revise the monthly membership subscription
fees from two million shillings to five million shillings to finance the operation
of the secretariat. The subscription hadn’t been revised for the past 20 years.
The forum in its bid to
effectively and efficiently strengthen its visibility intends to undertake
robust data systems for members, set up a policy framework for doctoral training
to bridge PhD deficit in the country, and advocate for the government’s support
in digitization.
